But Wait there's More - Bodysuits!

Following on from my last post I made some adjustments to the bodysuit pattern I drafted and tested it out once more ... the final verdict, whilst I am happy enough with all three and will wear them, I should have followed my original plan and only added an extra 10 cm (4 inches) to neck band - I decided to add 15 cm (6 inches) which is a little too much - but still wearable!

 Front view

 Back view

Twin needles -make the garment look so professional, don't though?

Front view in black (captioning the obvious - haha)

Back view

Fit shots - sleeve length is much better!

I love anything off the shoulder :)

I could possibly bring the back up a little more?

This black one is going to get worn to death - I can tell!

Snug fit

Low back!

Playing with a 90s Favourite - The Bodysuit

I am currently drafting and experimenting making my own bodysuits and perhaps adding them to my collection of salable items!

I loved wearing bodysuits in  the 90s - no scrunching up of tees around your middle - I never needed any extra width in that department, that's for sure - I also used to have a favourite pair of denim overalls I wore to death with my bodysuits underneath :) ... I wonder if I can find an old photo! 

Enough reminiscing ... here's my first attempt - the light was not so good today for taking photos but I'll put some up anyway.

These are the practice fabrics I will be using - they are Stretch ITY Jersey Knit.

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Sorry about the grainy, low lit pic - you get an idea of the fit anyway, the length is good in the body, too short in the arms and too stretched across neckline.

I over calculated the negative ease in the neck band - it needs about another 10cm in length to reduce stretch and fit the bodice better. You can see the pulling in the front. In the back view pic you can see the band is over stretched in comparison to the bodice. 

Just a bit to much gathering in the front!

See how the neck band is over stretched?

Comfortable length though.

Full front view 

Full back view

Tour My Sewing Space

I just want to apologize up front for the crappy filming and the fact that there has been no editing done to attempt to improve this video - I don't know how ... one day I will actually spend some time teaching myself a little movie making knowledge but not today!

 I just thought I would share how I store stuff in my space as a way of giving back - I spent countless hours scouring the 'net looking at other people's sewing spaces/rooms/studios and was so inspired and gained so many ideas that I have incorporated into my space.  I am very grateful to all the people who shared their wisdom - thank you.

I spent more than 20 years sewing at the kitchen table, stashing supplies in boxes in spares corners of the house and so I feel very lucky (like I've won the lotto) to have a space to call my own.

(Anyone who likes my ironing station idea - its just a piece of marine grade plywood that has been covered with polyester wadding, then cotton batting and then cotton fabric - I love it so much I covered three old 'tall' science desk at work to make new non-breakable ironing tables for students!)

Part One

Part Two

I hope you enjoy and again - sorry about the crappy filmmanship (is that even a word?), its shaky and dodgey but hopefully you'll get something from it!

I Can't Believe I've Been "Off Blog" For So Long!

OMG - Its been like a month and half!!! What tha!!!!

In my defense I have been pretty busy, getting organised at work for someone to take over my role for 7-8 weeks whilst I go have some seriously torturous 'medical' intervention! (The continuing saga of the workplace accident that happened almost two years ago! My boss calls it the gift that keeps on giving, Really??? He can't see the insensitivity in that statement - its not a gift its a nightmare!)

 Anyone want to guess what the intervention was this time??? ...

... if you guess toe nail removal you guessed right! Both feet - two 'big toe' nails removed - yes it was torturous and yes I managed to pull off the immediate infection - yet again - so antibiotics, excessive pain, blah,blah,blah!

So I have been hobbling around for weeks - just starting to walk normally,  hoping to be able to wear some 'broad toe' shoes for at least 6 hours straight by the end of next week so I can go back to work! 

The good news is ... I am now able to 'drive' the sewing machine again, albeit very difficult to stand for any length of time (10-15 mins is about the max) so cutting out patterns, is an exhaustive process (two days to do this one pattern below).

I made the dress below intending to enter it in the Tessuti's Jaywalk competition but I disliked it so much I didn't bother! My friend who is modelling the dress (hence the head editted out) loved the dress - so at least it went to a good home! I have to say I don't like any of the entries in the competition - the fabric feels beautiful but it looks awful when its sewn up - that's my opinion anyway - hmmmm makes wonder if that was the opinion of the Tessuti staff and hence the competition, great way to sell off a lot of fabric that otherwise might not get sold!!!! 

The pattern I used for this dress was Burda Style Funnel Neck Dress - I found the 'off the shoulder' sleeve very uncomfortable and the side cut on the fold didn't hug the body and just looked wrong. I added in an extra dart at the waist on the fold line to create a better fit. I will definitely make this dress again but I will use only the right side (cut the pattern down the middle and then place it on the fold and cut two).


So what do you think yay or nae for the stripes!

Chanel Jacket - the Muslin!

So do you make a muslin/toile and fit your pattern before you make it up in your fashion fabric or do you just go for it and hope for the best?

I have to admit I do a bit of both! Today I have made a muslin! It took all day but has been really worth it as I now have a perfectly fitting pattern which I will use to make other jackets - already thinking I am going to make a leather (or faux leather) one with an exposed zipper front closing after I've finished this classic one.

 

I am using Vogue Pattern 7975 View B

Claire Shaeffer has a great Vogue pattern for making the iconic Chanel Jacket - but I already had the 7975 so I'm going with that!

The spoils of my day ...

I really should have set up the tripod for these pics ... oh well! as you look at the photo (above) the sleeve on the right fits perfectly, the sleeve on the left I adjusted after first trying it on (before it was actually attached to the body of the jacket). I thought it was a bit tight - it wasn't!

Here's the other sleeve (above). You can see its a little too big for this style of jacket and sat too far off my shoulder!

Not the best picture but the smaller sleeve sit perfectly in the armscye (as it should). 

You can clearly see the difference between the two sleeves in this photo and is a great example of why making a muslin is so useful!

What I got for all my hard work -n- perseverance today :)

Back pattern pieces

Front pattern pieces

Sleeve pattern pieces

Once happy with the fit I cut the muslin apart along the stitch lines and remarked any darts/dots etc. as needed, then I steamed each piece back into shape ready to use as my pattern on the fashion fabric. I will use both the left and right sides of the pattern when cutting this jacket out as I will be using a very loose weave fabric that will need pattern matching. I intend to lay the pattern pieces, match the plaids, pin each piece and then thread trace around the pattern pieces. This way when I sew the pieces together the seams will be accurate as I will be working with a 2-3cm seam allowance.

Here's the fabric I will be using - I blogged about it in my last post - this photo shows the foil overlay print in comparison to the wrong side of the fabric. I haven't bought my lining yet - I'm thinking I might use a silver silk dupioni  or similar fabric to give the jacket a little body - let me know what you think in the comments below. 

Melbourne Fabric Finds! @ Clegs and Rathdowne Fabrics

Well I did have great plans of doing some street photography and maybe a review or two of some of my favourite Melbourne fabric stores but instead I just hung out with my daughter and enjoyed her company for most of the time I was in Melbourne!

I did get one day to myself as my daughter had to work :( ... but ... that meant I got to my favourite fabric stores and a new one too - just didn't take any photos of the store - to be honest I was pretty exhausted the whole time I was over there - I think my body is still not quite 100% - that infection really knocked me about!

So I went to Rathdowne Fabric & Remnants and I have to say that the staff were extremely friendly - they felt like old friends, the service is wonderful! If I lived in Melbourne they would be old friends as I would be there ALL the time! But, yes there's a but ... I didn't think there were any great bargains or any especially interesting/different fabrics to what I can get at my local Textiles Traders just down the road. When I am in Melbourne I will definitely visit the store again if I have free time but I wouldn't go to Melbourne just to visit the store and buy fabric! That said I did find and buy some fabric for my upcoming Chanel Jacket project.


Its a piece from a Carla Zampatti collection - a polyester blend with a feel like wool, open weave, soft, lovely feel. It has a foil print over the loose weave fabric which should help to keep the edges from fraying so much when I work with it. The foil print gives it a silvery sheen on a black and with weave - I really like it! 

Up close ...

And the trim I bought to go with it ($1/m - absolute bargain!) I will use a a white or silver grosgrain ribbon underneath it.

The fabric was $20/m and is 150cm wide - I bought 1.6m - I hope its enough, I think I should have bought 2m but I was worried about fitting it in my carry on bag - I didn't want to deal with luggage on the plane unless I found something so irresistible I just had to have it - which I didn't!

I did visit Tessuti - love that store - didn't buy anything as I thought (wrestling with check in lines and luggage at the airport on my mind) anything I like I can buy online and have it posted. I did like a lot of fabric at Tesuti but nothing that stood out as a must have - not forgetting I am 'trying' to save for a trip to Paris in July (flights and accommodation booked and paid for) where there will be much fabric shopping!

I then moved on to Clegs - I love, love, love this store - Australia's oldest fabric store - I would fly to Melbourne just to visit this store - and they have beautiful wool and knitting patterns too! They did have some particularly gorgeous and seriously large ply wool I would love to have bought and crocheted a 1950s cardigan from - but that 'luggage wrestle' was in the fore-front of my mind the whole time! However there was a fabric I couldn't resist and because Clegs online store isn't that great (if you know what's in store and call them they will send you whatever you want - they're great like that) but online purchases not so great!

This mechanical stretch was just too beautiful to not buy - I'm thinking a wiggle dress (summer or winter I'm not sure - leave me a comment with what you think).

   

the print is quite big - but not overpowering

The colours!

And the flowers - love! Its a laser print on cotton stretch 150cm wide - I bought 2m @ $19.95 (a beautiful, one of a kind, perfectly fitting couture dress for 40bux - can't beat that, right?)

So leave me a comment - winter or summer wiggle ... I wonder does anyone read this blog or am I writing to myself??? 

Ol' Melbourne Towne - Here I come

Just charging the iPad downloading season 5 of Modern Family - ready for the flight! I know there will most likely be some sort of entertainment on the flight and I have several books and magazine (all on the iPad) for choice but lets face it when you're on the red eye you just want something easy to watch and hopefully fall asleep to!

My primary reason for going to Melbourne is to visit my daughter :-) but she'll be working some of the time I'm there and I'll need to entertain myself ... we all know what that means - yep fabric shopping!

I am planning on making another Stinchcomb Blazer for Mr SS Tessuti and Clegs will be my first stops for fabric for this jacket ...

 and also for my planned Chanel Classic Jacket.

I'm torn between a tan colour jacket like this

or a classic cream colour like this

or do I go wild and ramp up a really vibrant colour palette (which colour I'm not sure - I'm hoping for inspiration in store!)

There will definitely be a whole lot more of those trunks getting whipped up over the comng weeks so will be on the look out for remnants - Rathedowne Fabrics and Remnants in Brunswick might be just the place for that!

And then lastly but definitely not least I am hoping to make these pants for Paris - I want to make them in a beautiful silver or gunmetal grey or both! You know as I type I'm seeing these pants in a light chambray - the new 'girlfriend' style on the old 'boyfriend' style of jeans???? Hmmm the possibilities!!!

I better go pack my bag - but not too much I think I'm going to need some room for the return trip, haha!

Men's Trunks - Everyone is Doing Them!

So I noticed that Thread Theory have a sew-a-long going at the moment making men's trunks and that quite a few bloggers have recently turned there hand to having a go at them so I thought why not?

I started by looking at patterns and decided not to buy one because I saved a pair of old one's destined for the trash not so long ago thinking I would draft a pattern from them - but drafting a pattern and knowing how to put them together are two very different things!

Well lucky for all of us Jalie Patterns put this beaut lil video on YouTube

So with my fresh made pattern

I followed the instructions in the video and voila ...

This is an inside view - not sure you can really see the stitching that well (the fabric had quite a sheen) I only used the sewing machine - too lazy to set the over-locker up! And I really like the 3 Step zig-zag as a feature :)

Again not sure how well you can see this but the zig-zag stitch is not very even around the top elastic becasue I sewed it from the inside (lesson learned for next time!)

All in all I'm pretty happy with them - just got to see if they fit Mr SS and if he likes them now!

Cost:  Pattern - Free

         Fabric    $ 0.70 (there's enough to make 3 pairs total cost was $2.00 )

         Elastic    $ 1.20

         Thread   -From stash

Total Cost:       $ 1.90

UPDATE - Mr SS loves his new trunks and when I told him how much they cost to make - he was even happier - that's like 10 bux cheaper than store-bought and seriously don't take any longer to make than it would to drive to the shop pick them out, pay for them and drive home again!